CASE STUDY:
Elmwood Home Care Uses Axxess Software to Help Achieve Deficiency-Free Surveys and Grow Business
0 survey deficiencies 100% referral conversion rate 5x census increase 0%
covid-19 transmission rate
Organization Profile Elmwood Home Care is a Medicare-certified, Joint Commission accredited provider of home health and home care. Delivering care to communities in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, Elmwood focuses on high-acuity patients and specializes in advanced wound care, homeinfusion therapy and chronic disease. Elmwood’s culture is driven by performance improvement and operations designed to exceed outcome and process measure national averages.
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We now approach surveys with confidence in our processes and documentation. Axxess has been integral to this, supporting us by increasing our regulatory compliance, commitment to infection control standards and driving our deficiency-free survey results—no tags, no citations. Axxess is the best software partner I’ve worked with in terms of addressing everything that’s critical to agency operations.
- Michael Mallozzi,
Vice President of Policy and Development, Elmwood Home Care
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In 2017, Elmwood Home Care received survey deficiencies. They searched for a new software partner to better support them in operating their business and delivering quality care. They turned to Axxess for help.
Elmwood achieved deficiency-free surveys, added a second location and grew census from 80 to 450 patients. During the COVID-19 pandemic, leadership continuously refined operations and training which led to their latest successes, including maintaining a 100% referral to admission rate within 48 hours and no COVID-19 infection transmission among staff and patients.
Elmwood team members gather for a small, in-office celebration.
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CHALLENGES The COVID-19 pandemic left many organizations scrambling for resources. Public safety concerns, confusion, industry-wide staffing shortages and caregiver burnout all impacted the ability to maintain and attract talent. Referral partners recognized Elmwood’s strength in delivering high-quality outcomes and continued to refer at high volumes throughout the pandemic. Elmwood had to support staff while accommodating the growing needs of the community:
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Management needed to update policies and procedures to reinforce infection control best practices using tailored education based on staff roles and competency.
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Administrators had to more closely monitor staff retention, employee schedules and keep tight operations to ensure timely submission of notes, order turnaround and billing claims.
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Clinical leaders needed reports to view visit utilization, identify at-risk patients, monitor infections and look at symptomatic indicators like vital signs being out of parameters.
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Field staff needed training on managing and tracking COVID-19 infections and fulfilling visits to ensure continuity of care, all while keeping up with regulatory updates like the Medicare Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM).
Managing growth and passing surveys, especially infection control and emergency preparedness surveys, became an even larger focus for the Elmwood team.
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Surveyors had trouble using our past software and would ask for documentation and reports we’d take days pulling. With Axxess, I provided a surveyor login and showed her an overview within minutes. She had no issues, and if she had questions, I could quickly pull the data or report she was looking for.
- Althea Lambert, RN
Vice President of Clinical Operations, Elmwood Home Care
Elmwood Home Care Uses Axxess Software to Help Achieve Deficiency-Free Surveys and Grow Business
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SOLUTIONS
Elmwood previously had outdated software that slowed processes, delayed documentation and impeded care coordination. They sought a system for both home health and home care service lines to streamline operations and support compliance. Elmwood found an ideal fit in Axxess. They loved the single sign-on capability and ease of use. With the right tools and online resources from Axxess including a Help Center, User Community and on-demand training videos, Elmwood’s team was equipped to navigate and overcome these challenges. Axxess provides Elmwood a suite of cloud-based solutions to help run its business and meet staff needs:
Home Health
A scalable electronic medical records platform with built-in compliance features, point-of-care mobile app documentation, electronic visit verification, reporting dashboards and more to help grow business A direct connection to Medicare, enabling real-time eligibility checks and automated claims submission to help maximize revenue Interoperability with seamless physician order tracking and document management to help streamline operations and reduce overhead A customizable software with caregiver matching, flexible scheduling, efficient payroll, a patient portal and more to personalize and improve care
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We’ve been so impressed by our Axxess account manager. During our last survey, he checked in and helped us every single day. I’ve never experienced that with any other organization.
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- Althea Lambert, RN
Vice President of Clinical Operations, Elmwood Home Care
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Elmwood Home Care Uses Axxess Software to Help Achieve Deficiency-Free Surveys and Grow Business
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RESULTS REGULATORY COMPLIANCE Three years ago, before starting with Axxess, Elmwood had received deficiencies during survey. They credit Axxess solutions and training for their deficiency-free survey record since then, an accomplishment that is increasingly rare given the pandemic and as many organizations struggle to comply with the evolving regulations. When discussing state and federal survey process, Mallozzi remarked, “One surveyor was so impressed by our quality
Performance trends are monitored in the Axxess PDGM Center during a meeting.
assurance and performance improvement initiatives that she asked for a copy of our models to help educate other organizations, as it was one of the best QAPI programs she’d ever seen. Axxess helped build the foundation of our QAPI development.” Mallozzi says their organization has been praised for their growth in quality matching their growth in volume.
Lambert trains a new Elmwood nurse using the Axxess mobile app.
BUSINESS GROWTH Elmwood has increased its home health census from 80 to more than 450 patients in two years. It has a 100% referral conversion rate within 48 hours, so patients don’t have to wait to be admitted and can get the care they need. In 2021, it opened a second branch located in Attleboro, Massachusetts, and has continued to expand areas of service and Mallozzi poses with the office manager at the new Attleboro branch.
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grow throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, adequately providing specialized care across even more communities.
Elmwood Home Care Uses Axxess Software to Help Achieve Deficiency-Free Surveys and Grow Business
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Home Health
Some of Elmwood Home Care’s Favorite Axxess Home Health Features Operational Oversight Elmwood can monitor employee schedules easily and keep tight operations because of the PDGM features. “Axxess’ PDGM dashboard and 30-day calendar couldn’t be any easier, with clear oversight into potential Low Utilization Payment Adjustments and visit utilization,” said Lambert. The team drills down to the patient level to see expected payment and other critical components, including risk of hospitalization and the number of outcomes with the potential to improve. Elmwood also uses WorldView for fast order turnaround and document management to meet timeliness requirements. On average, Elmwood submits requests for anticipated payments (RAPs) on day three, well ahead of the five-day deadline, and finals are submitted within the 14-day timeframe.
Built-In Quality Assurance Mallozzi discussed the value of the clinical intelligence features, such as the quality assurance safeguards and OASIS scrubber, that identify documentation errors and inconsistencies at the point of care. “Axxess has developed a way for clinicians to complete an assessment in a timely manner, integrating the necessary compliance steps. Axxess helps our clinicians develop those skills to not only learn the industry but also learn to work better with physicians and patients,” said Mallozzi. Using these features, Elmwood has improved staff development and care quality. “The user-friendly documentation combined with comprehensive Axxess training resources embedded in the workflow has allowed us to onboard new clinical staff in a matter of three to four weeks before sending them for their first visit in the field,” said Lambert.
Infection Control and Surveillance The Axxess team moved quickly in building a COVID-19 mobile screening tool, tracking logs, vaccine immunization logs and infectious disease reporting that helped Elmwood decide when to implement additional infection control procedures for patients and staff. Mallozzi indicated that the infectious disease screening reports and infection surveillance monitoring have been key to preventing transmission and staying compliant. Malozzi explained, “This has been quintessential to driving changes in our quality and clinical policy, supporting both patient safety and compliance with the Conditions of Participation.”
WANT TO LEARN MORE? If you’re searching for a home health technology partner, read this blog on critical questions to ask. To learn more about Axxess Home Health, schedule a demo or connect with us.
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Elmwood Home Care Uses Axxess Software to Help Achieve Deficiency-Free Surveys and Grow Business
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ABOUT ELMWOOD HOME CARE Elmwood Home Care supports and cares for communities by providing compassionate, innovative and personalized in-home care. Through a comprehensive approach, the company is committed to delivering the highest quality of care to each and every patient in the comfort of their own home, part of their proven efforts to maximize success and reduce hospital readmissions. Since inception, the organization has remained committed to providing an unmatched quality, and a higher level of care through comprehensive and unique community-based models, persistent growth and innovation, all designed to match the individual needs of the communities they serve.
ABOUT AXXESS Axxess is the leading technology innovator for healthcare at home, providing solutions that help improve care for more than 3 million patients worldwide. Trusted by more than 9,000 organizations, Axxess offers a complete suite of easy-to-use, innovative software solutions that empower home health, home care and hospice providers to grow their business while making lives better. The company’s collaborative culture focused on innovation and excellence is recognized nationally as a “Best Place to Work.” Founded in 2007 by CEO John Olajide, Axxess began as a consulting firm specializing in the home health industry and developed expertise in all aspects of agency operations by working closely with clients to deeply understand their unique needs. This philosophy of addressing industry needs has helped inform many innovations and the creation of state-of-the-art solutions that benefit home health, home care and hospice organizations.
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Elmwood Home Care Uses Axxess Software to Help Achieve Deficiency-Free Surveys and Grow Business
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